Several regulars at the cafĂ© at Fountain Park Recreation Centre are hoping the coffee stays $1 – and is still good – after the city hands operation of the cafĂ© over to another vendor.
“There’s not many places you can get coffee for $1,” said Norman Grimes during a coffee session on Friday morning.
Grimes has been heading to Fountain Park for coffee for more than 20 years, and he, like several of the other regulars, are hoping the price stays similar to what they’ve paid for years for their morning jolt of java.
Katherine Eberhart, who’s been going for coffee, exercise and socializing at Fountain Park a few times a week for about 11 years, said she is concerned about the switch in terms of service and prices.
“I don’t think we’ll get the same loving attention,” she said, adding if the price of coffee goes up too much they might have to relocate their meetings.
Muriel Gillespie, who’s been going to Fountain Park since 1990, echoed Eberhart’s positive comments on the city staff who currently work at the concession.
“We’ve had such nice, pleasant, accommodating staff,” she said.
In the “near future” the city plans to announce the third-party vendor that will take over operation of the cafĂ© at Fountain Park in May, said Mark Edwards, marketing and business manager for the city’s recreation and parks department.
The change is part of an ongoing swap of city-run concession stands to third-party vendors.
The concession at Akinsdale/Kinex arenas was leased to the Skybox Express last summer.
“It’s been good,” said Edwards. “People are pretty positive that the space is open and it’s got a good variety of food and beverages available.”
The Fountain Park contract went through a request for proposal process in December. Current cafe staff are on term contracts until the end of April.
After a change at Fountain Park, the city will move on to changing vendors at the concession for the Woodlands Water Play Park and Grosvenor Outdoor Pool later this year.
Concession at Riel Field has already been handed off to a food truck.
“Essentially it was a change in the business model,” Edwards said. “We determined that it would be more effective, that we’d be able to provide a better level of service to the users of those facilities and also provide an opportunity for businesses to … do business in those facilities.”
Menus – including pricing – have to be submitted as part of the request for proposal process. Edwards said in the case of the concession at Fountain Park, the menu has to have about half of it be healthy choices, in part due to the patronage of nearby high school students.
Edwards said so far the request for proposal process to replace city-run vendors has brought in enough interest that city staff has had options for each venue.
